''Invisible Waves'' () is a 2006

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

by Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, with screenplay by

Prabda Yoon Prabda Yoon (; ; born 2 August 1973 in Bangkok) is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, translator and media personality. His literary debut, ''Muang Moom Shak'' (''City of Right Angles''), ...

, cinematography by

Christopher Doyle Christopher Doyle, also known as Dù Kěfēng (Mandarin) or Dou Ho-Fung (Cantonese) () (born 2 May 1952) is an Australian cinematographer, best known for his work in Hong Kong cinema. He has worked on over fifty Chinese-language films, being ...

, and starring

Tadanobu Asano better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and ...

– all people that Pen-Ek had worked with on his previous film, ''

Last Life in the Universe ''Last Life in the Universe'' () is a 2003 Thai romantic crime film directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The film is notable for being trilingual; the two main characters flit from Thai to Japanese to English as their vocabulary requires. The fil ...

''. It had its world premiere at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and was also shown at the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival and the 2006

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

.News release, 2006
TIFF Announces Best of International Film Festival Circuit
,

(retrieved August 18, 2006).

Plot

Kyoji is a cook living in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. He works for a Thai restaurant in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and has been having an affair with Seiko, the wife of his boss, Wiwat, who orders Kyoji to poison her. After the deed is done, Kyoji is ordered to leave Hong Kong. He consults with the mysterious Monk, who gives him money and advice to contact Lizard. Kyoji then boards a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

, and is given a small, dreary cabin belowdecks, where nothing seems to work properly. In trying to find his way back topside, he gets lost. Finally, up on deck, he meets Noi. Noi has a baby named Nid, whom Kyoji finds hanging on the deck rail in a harness, where Noi left the child while she was swimming. Eventually, the ship reaches its destination,

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, where real life-or-death adventures begin for Kyoji as he starts to put the pieces together about what he's done.

Cast

as Kyoji *

Maria Cordero Mariam Maria Cordero Bibi, MH (), nicknamed Fat Mama (), is a Macanese singer, actress, TV Host and DJ based in Hong Kong. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen (肥媽私房菜) on Cable TV. Biography Cordero was born to a Maca ...

as Maria *

Toon Hiranyasap Toon Hiranyasap (; born October 24, 1954) is a Thai actor and singer. He is known for his work with Jarunee Suksawat. Early life and education Hiranyasap was born to a Thai mother and a Filipino father, who died since Hiranyasap was at a young ...

as Wiwat *

Kang Hye-jung Kang Hye-jung (; born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film '' Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in ...

as Noi *

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos (2000 film), Chaos'' and ''Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *''Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *''Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *''Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (film), Sai ...

as Lizard *

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...

as Monk *Tomono Kuga as Seiko

Awards and nominations

* 2006

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

– world premiere, nominated for Golden Bear. * 2006

Bangkok International Film Festival The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) () is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to film screenings, seminars, gala events and the Golden Kinnaree Awards. History First years The ...

– in competition and opening film.

Oscar controversy

''Invisible Waves'' had been announced as Thailand's entry for

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, but was then withdrawn and replaced with '' Ahimsa ... Stop to Run'', which upset the ''Invisible Waves'' production company,

Five Star Production Five Star Production Co. Ltd. () is a Thai film production company. It was founded in 1973 by Kiat Iamphungphorn and is today headed by his children, Aphiradee and her younger brothers Kiatkamon and Kiattikul. The company's films include the wo ...

. The film federation said that the reason for the change was that a print of the film wouldn't be available in time to send to the Academy for consideration, but Five Star, sales agent Fortissimo Films and distributor Palm Pictures stated that was not true. Earlier, the federation had opposed the film's opening of the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival, stating that since it was an international co-production it was not truly a Thai film.Thailand madness is back!
, Kaiju Shakedown (December 28, 2006).Soop Sip. October 4, 2006. "Oscar hopeful to open film fest", The Nation, Page 12A (print edition).

References

External links

* * {{Pen-Ek Ratanaruang 2006 films 2000s Cantonese-language films 2000s English-language films Five Star Production films Hong Kong crime drama films Japanese crime drama films 2000s Japanese-language films Thai crime drama films Thai-language films Films directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Neo-noir 2006 multilingual films 2000s Thai films